For lovers of sparkles, rainbows, and magic
1
Up and Away!
Shamrock peered through his thick, black-rimmed glasses at his space-themed backpack. Sprinkled all over the pack were tiny glow-in-the-dark stars, which matched the rest of his room. Bright orange, red, and purple planets hung from the ceiling on strings, and a telescope was arranged by his window, pointing toward the sky. Shamrock was always reading about the discoveries of famous unicorn astronomers, and dreamt of making his own discoveries one day. He loved facts and wanted to know how the whole universe worked.
Tapping his front hoof, Shamrock tried to think of what else he’d need for Sapphire’s sleepover party. Should he bring the telescope with him? He’d never been to a sleepover before, but he had read about them in books and was pretty sure he knew how it would go. Sapphire lived at the beach, so they would probably explore the seaside caves during the day and study the stars at night. Comet and Twilight, Shamrock’s other best friends, would also be there. Knowing Comet, she would bring delicious treats that she had baked herself. Still, Shamrock couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He knew the other three unicorns had been to sleepovers before. He hoped he wouldn’t be terribly out of the loop.
Shamrock decided they would take turns with Sapphire’s telescope, so there was no need to bring his own. But he did pack his brand-new, very favorite book. Using his horn, he grabbed 1,000 Incredible and Astonishing Facts from his book hook. When in doubt, he knew he could dazzle his friends with new facts.
“Shamrock! Time to go!” Dad called out.
“We don’t want to fly this thing in the dark, remember!” he heard his Pop add.
Shamrock and his dads lived high up on a mountain and used a hot-air balloon for travel. Otherwise it would take weeks to get anywhere!
“Coming!” Shamrock yelled back. At this point, he could only hope he was prepared.
He zipped the pack up with his mouth, slipped his head through the long loop, and hurried toward the front door. Through the door’s window, he could see that his parents were already waiting on the lawn. Even though he was used to it, Shamrock was still impressed by the bright rainbow colors of the balloon. It billowed and waved in the wind, looking eager to rise up into the sky. The huge basket was held in place by large ropes attached to spikes in the ground.
Shamrock trotted out to join his family. His dads walked into the basket and started undoing the ropes. Shamrock followed, closed the door behind him, and made himself cozy. Pop, who was always thinking ahead like Shamrock, had loaded the basket with blankets and pillows to make the journey comfortable.
Dad untied the big ropes, and they were off. Floating high above Sunshine Springs, Shamrock watched the mountains get smaller and smaller as they made their way over little towns and winding roads. To the north, he could spot the hill that Unicorn University, his school, stood atop. But they were headed south to the ocean. They passed fields that looked like his patched-up quilt back home, and they passed by cotton-candy clouds. Shamrock felt his heart soar. He looked up to see Dad adjusting the flame above their heads. Shamrock knew that the flame heated up the air inside the balloon (which he also knew was technically called the envelope) and that hot air was lighter than cold air, which was why hot-air balloons could float! Shamrock smiled at himself. The science of the hot-air balloon was really magical. He loved flying.
Soon enough he could see the sparkling, deep blue ocean waves whooshing and washing over the beach that Sapphire lived by. It was time for Shamrock’s first sleepover. A seaside sleepover!
2
Good-Byes and Hellos
The white sand was nearly below them as Shamrock’s dad turned down the flame enough to lower the basket over the beach. The sun was low in the sky, painting the clouds different colors, like a big bowl of rainbow sherbet.
“Okay, Shamrock, we’re going to dip low on the sand, and you jump out,” his dad was telling him. “We’ll be back on Sunday to pick you up.”
“Have so much fun, Son!” Pop said with a smile. He gave Shamrock a good-bye nuzzle. “We can’t wait to hear all about it. And look, there are Comet, Sapphire, and Twilight now!”
Shamrock’s heart leapt when he saw his friends running down the beach to meet him. Finally the basket got low enough for Shamrock to jump out to a chorus of good-byes from his dads and hellos from his friends.
Shamrock tried to tell his friends an awesome sunset fact he’d read about in 1,000 Incredible and Astonishing Facts when he landed on the beach, but everyone started talking at once. Comet was shouting about a new pumpkin cupcake recipe she’d recently tried, Twilight was trying to tell them about her new art project, and Sapphire was attempting to herd them to the tent. It was a happy, confusing reunion.
Even though fall break had just started a few days before, Shamrock felt like he hadn’t seen his best friends in ages. He was so excited to be with them, it felt like he was still floating in the hot-air balloon. His face almost hurt because he was smiling so big.
“You guys won’t believe the tent Sapphire put together,” Twilight said when everyone quieted down. Twilight had a jet-black coat, and today her hooves were a sunshine yellow. She painted them different colors all the time, and Shamrock always admired them. She lived much closer to Sapphire than the others did and must have walked over with her parents earlier in the day.
“Let’s go now!” Comet, a rose-colored unicorn, cheered. She was floating with anticipation. Really! Comet had the power of flight. When Shamrock asked how she had traveled, Comet told
